Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 57 Palestinians on Friday, health officials said, as Hamas continued weighing a U.S.-brokered proposal to end nearly two years of war – a plan that critics say heavily favors Israel.
The deal, announced in Washington by President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for Hamas to release all 48 remaining hostages, surrender power, and disarm.
In return, Israel would free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and halt its military campaign.
The plan guarantees aid and reconstruction but offers no roadmap to Palestinian statehood, a key demand for Hamas and much of the Palestinian public.
A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that “some points are unacceptable” and require revisions.
Qatar and Egypt, the main mediators, also said further negotiations were needed.
Friday’s bloodshed underscored the urgency.
Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza reported receiving 29 bodies, including 14 people killed in a corridor where Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire near aid distribution points.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah said it received 16 dead from strikes, including Omar Hayek, a 42-year-old occupational therapist with Doctors Without Borders who was killed while waiting for a bus.
The group said Hayek was the 14th member of its staff to die since the war began.
In Gaza City, Shifa Hospital took in five bodies, though staff said access was increasingly difficult as Israel presses a full-scale offensive to occupy the city.
Other hospitals reported at least seven additional deaths.
The Israeli military offered no immediate comment, repeating its stance that it targets Hamas and blames the group for operating in populated areas.
The Gaza Health Ministry, run by Hamas, said more than 66,200 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 170,000 wounded since the war began.
Women and children make up about half of the dead.
U.N. agencies and independent experts consider the figures broadly reliable.
Israel also intercepted most of the more than 40 vessels in a high-profile flotilla attempting to deliver symbolic humanitarian aid and challenge its 18-year blockade of Gaza.
Among those on board were Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and several European lawmakers. Israel said the activists were safe and would be deported.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, following Hamas' incursion into southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 251.
While most hostages have been freed in previous deals, about 48 remain.
Israel’s defense minister has ordered all remaining civilians to evacuate Gaza City, calling it their “last opportunity” before a final push.
Roughly 400,000 people have already fled south from the famine-stricken city.
Conditions for those displaced remain catastrophic.
UNICEF said mothers and newborns at Nasser Hospital face unprecedented strain, with corridors lined with women who have just given birth and medical resources nearly exhausted.
“The situation for mothers and newborns in Gaza has never been worse,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said from Gaza via video link.
